August 29, 2010

Pizza Pizza

Ok, so I have nothing but respect for everyone out there that makes everything they possibly can from scratch, and honestly, my inclination is to do that as much as possible too... but for my money, on a rainy day, nothing is better than busting out a chunk of Trader Joe's pizza dough and letting the kids go to town.

Lara pretty much did the last batch entirely on her own. She's all about the rolling pin.



But she knows that any chef worth her salt needs to accessorize properly for every occasion (so are you guy caught up in the Silly Bandz thing? I didn't realize four was already old enough to care about fads!).



A corner with just dough and cheese for Lara; a plain slice for Jakey; and tomatoes, artichokes, broccoli, and basil leaves for mom and dad.



While the pizza is baking, there are only so many ways to entertain a hungry brother. Way number 4? Some floor Cheerios.



The extra bonus of this kid activity? Dinner!

Walking to School

I love walking Lara to school. It's the perfect combination of the familiar and the new. Every day, the same route - but, every day, some new combination of hilariousness or awesomeness or fantasy or deep thoughts from my girl.

Friday, for instance, there were flowers to smell,



public art to explore (this one looks like a number 8, by the way),



little brothers fascinated by passing dogs (a new development on the Jakey front - suddenly, he's noticing birds and squirrels and dogs - and today, he freaked out with delight on seeing a hippo at the zoo!),



and fences to balance on while Mommy tried to take pictures Abbey Road-style.



Meanwhile, on Thursday, Lara had this conversation with her dad:

Misha: You have to listen to me.
Lara: NO!
Misha: I'm the boss!
Lara: Well, I'm going to take a magic wand and take the boss out of you and put it into my head! Then I'll be the boss and you'll be the kid and you'll have to do what I say!



See what I mean about the constant new awesomeness?

August 18, 2010

New Amazing Little Kitchens!

Check out these beauties!

First up, Molly's carnival-circus-fairground magic dream kitchen:



Those colors! It's like the world's best quilt turned into a toy.

And next, the gift Heather made for her grandkids. Now that's what I call a grandma!



Swanky pot rack? Check. Awesome red faucet? Check. Thread spools as sink knobs? Genius!

August 17, 2010

Weekend in Greenwich

My amazing mom took me away last weekend, and it was the most relaxing two days I could have ever imagined. You guys, Greenwich? Oh, just beyond gorgeous. And not only that - she got me a shmancy new camera too! Which I was very happy to try out on the many, many lovely things we saw.



A rusty chain and crank for the ferry that took us to a tiny beach island in the middle of the Sound.



The island beach. Something about the slightly off colors in this photo reminds me of 60s-era postcards.



A quick photo on the forbidden rocks. Seriously, we got yelled at immediately after taking this because apparently sitting on these rocks is a no-no.



Waiting for the ferry back, I noticed the contrast between the pier and the sunlight playing on the water below it.



Near our hotel was a bridge over this tiny rivulet in the middle of some marshy sand. I love the little island in the middle of the water.



The hotel was right on the water, with some boats docked alongside, and some floating anchored at the end of the little bay.

August 10, 2010

"The Cyclist in Repose", or "Lara & Bike"

Lara and bicycle

Exciting news! My stencil portraits will now be available through Nurture, a really gorgeous baby boutique in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I made this sample portrait of Lara contemplating her bicycle as a display item. Stop on by to check it out next week!

August 6, 2010

This one's for the fans...

...fans of Jakey, that is.

Lara is at it again

Hi world.

So, Lara's been at it again - she's got a new favorite author, I think: Ogden Nash (she could do worse!), and is enjoying his series about Custard the Dragon.

This is a drawing of ... well, Ogden's words are probably better than mine:
"Now, Custard was a flyer of great renown,
He was able to fly while sitting down,
So home he soared with wings a-flap,
And Belinda sitting in his lap."

I'll let you guess which one is Lara's and which was is by the wonderful illustrator, Lynn Munsinger.

August 2, 2010

Swinging in the Square

Franklin Square apparently had a birthday this weekend. We missed the hoopla, but we did get in some swing-playground-carousel-ice cream time. Which, really, if you think about it, is probably the best way to celebrate that kind of birthday.



There are many discussions in the family about whether Jakey looks more like Mommy or Daddy. What do I think? I think he's a straight up ringer for a Renaissance putto:



On an unrelated note, here is some fun with the Photoshop watercolor filter: